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It’s all about the caramel.
To mix the perfect blend of gooey sweetness that will glue The Party Shop’s popular “turtles” together, manager Lynette Dowden spends about an hour stirring ingredients in a huge kettle pot over a flame.
“It looks like milk soup when you start,” she says, scooping globs of warm caramel onto a baking sheet covered with pecans, as she works in the downtown Huntington shop.
But heat and time transform the sugar, heavy corn syrup, milk and condensed milk into a rich concoction that also will coat the apples, which are among the shop’s most popular treats.
Northeast Indiana is rich with family-owned businesses that make candy.
On this afternoon, Dowden dips Winesap apples from a local orchard, but she also uses Jonathan, Rome, Ida Red and, occasionally, Granny Smith varieties.
Winesap “has a nice crispness. It’s sweet-tart,” she says.
In other words, it’s perfectly suited to dunking in layers of caramel, chocolate and pecans or peanuts.
“It’s like a turtle on top of an apple,” Dowden says.
And it’s those original turtle treats – covered with milk, dark or white chocolate – that first made The Party Shop, 413 N. Jefferson St., famous more than 80 years ago.
That’s the kind of longevity that the owners of Old World Fudge, which opened a few weeks ago in Glenbrook Square, hope to enjoy.
Co-owner Cristi Lamb is mixing a huge bowl of pumpkin fudge, which fills the small space with the aroma of a baking pumpkin pie. In a mere 37 minutes, she’ll have created enough to make 36 pounds of fudge. She pours the liquid into pans and puts it aside to “set” overnight.
The shop, next to Starbucks, typically carries 20 flavors at a time, such as mint, raspberry chocolate, coconut cream, butter pecan, chocolate walnut, maple, orange cream, Rocky Road and a Snickers version. It also offers some sugar-free flavors.
Peanut butter and chocolate-peanut butter are the top sellers.
The Mackinac Island-style fudge is made with butter, sugar and whatever else is needed for flavor and texture – canned pumpkin, peppermint oil, shredded coconut, peanut butter, caramel, nuts or bits of candy bars.
“Fudge is just something that makes people happy. Nobody returns fudge,” Lamb says.
She owns the shop with her parents, Barbara and Gary Wechsler. The family also owns Woodland Water Gardens.
Old World Fudge also sells saltwater taffy, South Bend Chocolate Co. items, soups and sandwiches. And it has a fundraising program for schools and churches.
Customers who buy 1 pound of fudge ($11.95) can get a half-pound free.
Here are a number of family-owned businesses in the region that make candy:
1415 E. State Blvd.
Candies: Chocolates, caramels, creams, cordials, fudge and 40 kinds of licorice (one of the largest selections in the Midwest). Artfully molded chocolates come in a variety of famous scenes, including Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”
Contact: 482-1160 or www.abbybrown.com
2384 W. Shoaff Road, Huntertown
Candies: Sophie’s Creams, mints, toffee, truffles, chocolate-covered cookies, bark, chocolate bars and caramel apples (seasonal). The shop also offers quilting and sewing classes.
Contact: 637-5050
10105 Auburn Park Drive; 5608 Coldwater Road; and Jefferson Pointe
Candies: Truffles, chocolates, caramel pecan patties, cordials, ice cream and gelato, hot chocolate and sundae topping, marshmallows
Contact: 969-8333 (Auburn Park), 482-4373 (Coldwater Road), 432-5050 (Jefferson Pointe) or www.debrand.com
Glenbrook Square
Candies: Fudge, toffee, chocolates, saltwater taffy, chocolate-covered nuts. It also has soups, sandwiches and biscuits and gravy.
Contact: 483-2007
413 N. Jefferson St., Huntington
Candies: Turtles, caramel corn, fudge, bark, mints, candy cups (Buckeyes, peanut butter cups, nut clusters, etc.), creams, toffee, pretzel rods and mixed nuts. The shop also has a coffee bar. Also, hard candy and chocolates made by Plyley’s Candies in LaGrange are sold there.
Contact: 260-355-0142 or www.pecanturtles.com
909 S. Poplar St., LaGrange
Candies: Hard candy (more than 30 flavors), caramels, cordials, butter toffee, chocolate-covered raisins and nuts, peanut butter cups
Contact: 1-877-665-2778, 260-463-3351 or www.plyleyscandies.com
118 N. First St., Pierceton
Candies: Truffles, bark, turtle patties, caramel corn, nougats, creams, peanut butter cups, fudge and taffy. The shop also has a lunch menu and specialty drinks.
Truffle flavors include amaretto, lemon, Bavarian cream, raspberry, Key lime, apricot, Irish cream, espresso, caramel apple pie and horchata (with chile oil and crushed red pepper flakes).
Contact: 574-594-3444 or weckmullerchocolate@earthlink.net
4621 Speedway Drive
A baker’s idea of heaven, this store sells all kinds of decorating supplies.
It doesn’t sell candy, but it offers several candy-making classes for those who want to create their own sweet treats. It also has baking and cake- and cookie-decorating classes, plus birthday party options.
Contact: 482-4835 or visit www.countrykitchensa.com
